Kimi Räikkönen disqualified in Baku
Kimi Räikkönen lost the benefit of a good qualification due to a car deemed non-compliant by the FIA stewards. He will therefore also have to start from the pit lane.
The pit lane in Baku will be busier than usual. As of Friday, we knew that Pierre Gasly would be forced to start from there for failing to attend the mandatory weigh-in during free practice. But the Frenchman will also be joined by Robert Kubica (due to the consequences of his major accident in qualifying) and Kimi Räikkönen. Indeed, the front wing of the Finnish driver’s Alfa Romeo was deemed non-compliant.
It’s all the more detrimental for the veteran as he had very good chances of performing well since he was supposed to start from the 8th position, having benefited from the penalty imposed on his teammate, Antonio Giovinazzi. The young Italian received a ten-place penalty for having already reached the maximum quota of engine parts. His only source of satisfaction is having been able to join Q3 for the first time: « I am very happy to enter Q3 for the first time. I was already very fast during the second free practice session yesterday. We got the most out of the car today. Even though I’ve received a ten-place penalty, I hope to score points here. »
On a track known for generating completely unpredictable races, the two Alfa Romeo drivers will hope to take advantage of the race’s twists and turns to move up and aim for a spot in the final top 10.
